Itinerant Location: Fox Middle & Ridgewood Middle Schools
STATUS: Full-time
PAY CATEGORY: Teacher Salary Schedule; Exempt
REPORTS TO: Building Principal
POSITION SUMMARY: As a member of the Guidance Department staff at the middle school or high school level, a counselor is to provide a comprehensive guidance program for students as appropriate to their grade level. The counselor provides activities to meet the needs of the students, consults with teachers, staff, and parents to enhance their effectiveness in helping students and provides support to other educational programs.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
- Implement the appropriate age level school guidance curriculum
- Guide and counsel groups and individual students through the development of educational and career plans. Incorporate College and Career program into weekly classroom counselor visits
- Counsel small groups and individual students with problems
- Consult with teachers, staff, and parents regarding meeting the developmental needs of students
- Refer students with severe problems to appropriate community resources in consultation with their parents
- Co-facilitate the 504 / Child Find process to determine what students may be eligible for 504 services
- Case Manager for all building 504 plans
- Facilitate 504 meetings on an annual basis
- Track student attendance data and intervene when necessary
- Individual student academic planning and goal setting
- Development of master schedule along with building administrator
- Facilitate student entering of course requests each year
- Serves as a liaison between students, parents and academic programs off campus
- Manage all schedule changes
- Career Planning with students
- Monitoring of transcripts and completed courses for graduation
- Recommends students for honors programs (Duke Tip, AP, Dual Credit)
- Work with other district personnel such as social workers, 504 admin, homeless liaison, and school nurse to know resources available to families (clothing, food, transportation, etc.)
- Attend required training and professional development activities (504, MAP testing, risk assessments, etc.)
- Mediating student conflict and bullying
- Serve as a resource and support for teachers and parents
- Advocate for students during Child Services interviews conducted at school
- Understand the Missouri Comprehensive School Counseling Program and how each component is vital to be effective
- Serve on district level Crisis Team
- Reporting of child neglect and abuse to Child Services
- Attend district and county counselor meetings
- Participate in, coordinate or conduct activities which contribute to the effective operation of the school
- Evaluate and revise the building guidance program
- Serves as member/coordinator of the teacher leadership team as created by the principal
- Serve as a member of the IEP team
- Respond to parent and/or teacher concerns regarding academic performance
- Organize information related to parental and/or teacher requests for evaluation and refers information to the diagnostician
- Assist with enrollment, registration, and orientation of new students
- Refer special education transfer students with insufficient records to diagnosticians
- Coordinate with the diagnostician regarding special education transfers in and out of the district
- Pursue and fulfill continuing professional education requirements
- Perform other duties as assigned
ESSENTIAL SKILLS AND ABILITIES:
- Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with a variety of clienteles.
- Physical stamina to handle work schedule.
- Respect for administrators, students, teachers, parents, and support staff.
- Possess a strong familiarity with current trends in guidance counseling.
- Possess effective interpersonal skills with the ability to interface diplomatically with administrators, teachers, and other colleagues within the district, as well as with parents and students.
- Possess the ability to effectively collaborate, both as a leader and a team member, with various stakeholders.
- Possess the ability to build relationships and foster open, honest communication with others to encourage expression of ideas.
- Possess the ability to coach others by accurately assessing strengths and needs of students, providing feedback, and encouraging reflective questioning.
BASIC REQUIREMENTS:
- Missouri Counselor 7-12 Certification through DESE
WORK ENVIRONMENT: While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, walk, sit, talk, hear, and utilize manual dexterity. The employee is occasionally required to reach with hands and arms, to stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl, and to lift and/or move up to 30 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, the ability to adjust focus, and depth perception.